The K-pop star who came out to the world on stage

Bain was halfway through the Los Angeles concert in his group during a crunchy April night when the music stopped.

In an oversized fur coat and black sunglasses, the 24 -year -old K -Pop star told thousands of fans: “Before starting the next song – I want to share something with you.”

A brief break and then: “I am [expletive] Proud to be part of the LGBTQ community! “”

The crowd broke out in applause and the cries while Bain burst into the hymn of the pride of Lady Gaga: “Just put your paws, because you were born in this way, baby”.

At that time, as he got out of the world, he was not nervous, he said to the BBC in an interview in his studio in Seoul – he had rather tried to “ring cool”.

A handful of K -Pop artists have come out gay in recent years – but none as publicly as bath.

Even in 2025, it was a daring decision in the entertainment industry in South Korea, where stars are held to impossible standards. Admitting even a heterosexual relationship is scandalous.

“There were people in the industry who knew [I was thinking of coming out] And warned me against it, saying it would be a risk, “said bath.” And of course, I thought of the risk – that we could lose fans.

“But then I thought that society is changing … I could win more than I could lose.”

This is the big question: has it opened the door to change in an industry that has become global but remains deeply rooted in a conservative South Korea?

Bath, whose real name is Song Byeonghee, says he was in secondary school, about 12 years old, when he realized that he was gay.

Shortly after, he decided to become a K -Pop trainee but he kept his secret sexuality – he had the impression that being gay was “not authorized”.

“It was not something I questioned … I just thought I had no choice,” he said. “There was no one else [around me that was gay]. I thought I could just pretend and continue. “”

Rich and modern South Korea is always traditional in many ways. Powerful but conservative churches often see homosexuality as a handicap or fishing. And homosexual marriage is not legally recognized.

In 2021, Bain made his debut as part of a boyband of six members, just B. They released several albums and participated in reality TV shows, winning a dedicated audience.

But through all this, the years of hiding place of a part of himself have wreaked havoc on bath.

“I was so overwhelmed, I thought I couldn’t be an idol at all. I felt that I was hiding so much. I decided to talk to mom.”

It was about three years ago. Her mother was the first person of her family to discover: “We talked for an hour, and I finally said:” I like men more than women “. It was when she knew.”

His reaction was difficult for him. “Honestly, she didn’t like it – not at the beginning. She said she thought I could overcome it, that I might be one day like women. She felt sad … that I would now do in the face of bad reactions from others. [she] said, “You are my son, so I love you, I support you, I love you.” It was mixed. I was sad, but ultimately grateful, she said she loved me. “”

Then, the members of his team and his company began to encourage him to jump – and to say it to the world.

Earlier this year, the group started a world tour, and during the last stop of their American tour, Bain decided to go out on stage.

Since then, the group has been put under the spotlight – bath giving countless interviews when it quickly became the new face of the LGBTQ Korean community.

“I feel like I have changed a lot since I got out. I feel more confident. When I meet someone new, I show who I am immediately,” he said. “But I feel as sad as my identity is so serious now.”

Over time, he hopes, people will stop saying “Oh, he’s gay, but rather, oh, it’s just who he is”.

When the South Korean actor Hong Seok-Cheon came out gay in 2000, the LGBTQ representation really entered the dominant current of the country.

He was the first Korean celebrity to open up to his sexuality – and that had a cost. He was abandoned television programs and advertisements.

Attitudes have certainly changed since then. A 2019 PEW survey has shown that the number of people who accepted homosexuality increased to 44% compared to 25% in 2002.

And yet, only a handful of other celebrities have come out. In 2018, Holland became the first openly gay K-Pop artist in the country and, in 2020, Jiae, a former member of the group of Wassup girls, came out bisexual. The two said they had struggled to sign with a record company accordingly.

The bathing announcement, however, was celebrated by fans and the LGBTQ community in South Korea.

“When someone like an idol comes out, it gives people like me the feeling that we are not alone,” said a 26 -year -old transgender woman, who does not want to be named.

“It brings comfort … makes me think, maybe I’m fine as I am.”

Also online, the majority of the comments were positive. A gay fan in a YouTube comment wrote how he was encouraged by bath, after feeling “so much despair” on “hateful comments” and discrimination.

“But thanks to bath, I found the courage to continue.”

International fans particularly encouraged him: “After the initial shock, I started to cry,” said Lia, a fan of the United States K-Pop who identifies himself as a lesbian.

“Knowing that Korea still has a certain repression against LGBTQ people, the bravery and the courage it has shown out …[was] admirable.”

The cultural imprint of South Korea has developed on a global scale, which brought fans everywhere, with their own perspectives and beliefs. They can reshape the K-POP industry.

But it will take time. And this is obvious in the range of comments in response to the bathing of bath – disapproval of apathy.

On the one hand, the country has experienced an increase in the right, often admitted to anti-feminist beliefs among young men, who seem to oppose any challenge to traditional gender roles.

And these roles remain strong in South Korea. The government and the church champion are conventional family values, encouraging young people to marry and have children so that they can increase birth rate, currently the lowest in the world.

Given all of this, it may not be surprising that homosexuality is always a taboo, even in a world industry like K-pop.

It is a world where even hetero couples do not talk about their private life, explains the critic Lim Hee-Yun.

“K-Pop spent almost 25 years avoiding the subject of sexuality [altogether]. Even heterosexual relationships are hidden to protect fans fantasies. “”

Bath, he adds, “disputed this silence in a symbolic and powerful way. I believe that it marks a major moment”.

But he thinks that fans may have reacted very differently – “it could have been explosive” – ​​if a member of a world boyband had come out gay.

“The bath case was important, but his group is not as famous [so] This did not cause so much national level, “said Lim.

Bain has certainly helped to raise awareness, he agrees. “It is a slow process, but we see more public figures or content created around these LGBTQ problems.”

But any immediate change in the K-POP or the entertainment industry is unlikely, according to him.

“It is not only a social problem – it is a market problem. Male idols generally have a much larger female fans base … [and] If you discover that your favorite male idol is gay, it can break the illusion that you could one day be the object of its affection, “he said.

“So if they do it [come out] They risk shaking the foundation on which their fandom is built. “”

Bath, however, says that his decision was worth it so even “a person in k-pop is gaining strength or interest”.

“I spent so long pretending … I realized that because I went out, others felt safe doing it too.”

The day he came out, he recalls, several fans approached him, saying that they were gays or lesbians, speaking of their own identity.

“They thanked me and I said to myself” I should have done that earlier “.”